Self-Powered Occupancy Sensor

Self-powered occupancy sensor for Bluetooth lighting control systems

At CES 2019 in Las Vegas (January 8-11, 2019), technology provider, EnOcean, will be launching a new ceiling-mounted solar-powered occupancy sensor (PIR) for Bluetooth lighting control systems communicating via Bluetooth® Low Energy (BLE). The Easyfit Motion Detector with Illumination Sensor (EMDCB) will be the first Bluetooth self-powered occupancy sensor on the market integrating EnOcean’s energy harvesting technology and is maintenance-free, freely positionable, flexible, and easy to install. The new sensor, in a small and functional housing design, will add to EnOcean’s Easyfit portfolio of battery-free Bluetooth switches and support the company’s strategy to provide data for the digitalization of buildings using LED lighting systems as data backbone for intelligent control.

“Adding the solar-powered occupancy sensor to our EnOcean Easyfit Bluetooth portfolio, we prove once again the extensive opportunities of our energy harvesting technology to power wireless communication by the surrounding environment,” says Andreas Schneider, CEO of EnOcean GmbH. “At the same time, the self-powered Bluetooth occupancy sensor will meet the growing market demand for Bluetooth-based wireless control which leverages lighting systems as data grid for smart building services on the route to the IoT. Our Bluetooth partners will benefit from a complete plug and play energy harvesting portfolio which they can easily integrate into their Bluetooth lighting systems, offering installers a most flexible ready-to-use solution—self-powered and wireless.”

The Easyfit self-powered occupancy sensor (EMDCB) uses a passive infrared (PIR) sensor to detect motion and integrates tiny solar cells to harvest ambient light. These solar cells generate the energy for the sensor’s operation making it self-powered and maintenance-free. An energy storage element stores the harvested energy bridging a period of time when no light is available to ensure an uninterrupted operation. Besides occupancy detection, the new Bluetooth sensor integrates a light sensor that allows light level control based on the actual light intensity. Like the battery-free Easyfit switches, the sensor also has a Near Field Communication (NFC) interface to be easily integrated and commissioned for lighting control systems via a NFC reader, a smartphone, or a tablet.

In addition, the EMDCB offers advanced security mechanisms for protected data communication. The sensor’s algorithm uses AES 128 authentication based on the device-unique random security key to generate a 32 bit signature which is transmitted as part of the radio telegram. Therefore, all transmitted radio telegrams are authenticated via AES 128 to ensure data integrity and authenticity.

With the self-powered occupancy sensor for Bluetooth systems, EnOcean will offer a complete control solution for Bluetooth lighting systems for worldwide use enabling its Bluetooth partners a fast market adoption. Besides the battery-free Easyfit switches which allow a direct control of LED lights, the PIR sensor will enable a more complex control logic delivering data on room occupancy and light intensity via Bluetooth. This data lays the foundation for smart services such as demand-based lighting control or room occupancy management making LED lighting systems an integrated part of networked building intelligence.

In a future step, EnOcean will further expand its Easyfit portfolio of self-powered Bluetooth sensors to deliver additional building data such as temperature and humidity for more intelligent control abilities. EnOcean will be showing prototypes of this portfolio expansion at CES as well.

The new EMDCB sensor will add to EnOcean’s self-powered wireless Easyfit switches for Bluetooth lighting systems. The Easyfit switches are battery-free, gaining their energy by the press of a button. Therefore, they are maintenance-free, freely positionable, and allow flexible control as well as intuitive usage. The self-powered switches can be commissioned by Near Field Communication (NFC) to allow simple or complex lighting scenes and effects, and enable easy, flexible installation of lighting applications.

In addition to its Easyfit Bluetooth portfolio, EnOcean will also be demonstrating self-powered switch and sensor solutions based on the open wireless standards of EnOcean (ISO/IEC 14543-3-1X) and Zigbee 2.4 GHz all with integrated energy harvesting technology from EnOcean.

Visitors to the CES show can experience EnOcean’s Easyfit Bluetooth® solutions at Sands Expo #40464. The new sensor will be available on the market from January 2019.

Suggested Links:

You Might Like:

Wireless LED Controls at Strategies in LightEnOcean's wireless Easyfit LED controls for various open standards enable simple commissioning, intelligent local control, and seamless integration with building automation systems.

Featured Video

Powered by highly advanced encryption and a software-based infrastructure, Seos secures trusted identities on any form factor and can be extended for applications beyond physical access control. Learn more at hidglobal.com/seos.

The auto glass supplier will invest $16.1 million and create 70 new jobs at its new Greenville County, SC processing center. - Read: Fuyao North America Opening Processing Center In South Carolina at BusinessFacilities.com.

The alcohol beverage company will invest $31 million to create a new primary North America office at 3 World Trade Center, drawing 350 jobs to New York City. - Read: Diageo North America Investing $31M In NYC Office Relocation at BusinessFacilities.com.

The company has selected Chattanooga as the U.S. base for its electric vehicle production and will invest $800 million in the facility. - Read: Volkswagen Will Create 1,000 New Jobs In Tennessee at BusinessFacilities.com.

Knowledge Channels

E-News Signup

Join 25,000+ Subscribers & Get the latest from Facility Executive!

Facility Executive is your one-stop source for information on quality operation, design and maintenance of facilities. Facility Executive offers a shared community of facility management experts who explore and analyze issues that affect your facility and its environment.

Facility Executive is a specialized trade publication written and edited for corporate facility executives in all industry and service sectors whose responsibilities include purchasing, planning and approving products, services and materials for facility operations.